Local pizza franchise marketing support helps franchisees stand out from the competition and become fixtures in their communities
Pizza franchise marketing tends to emphasize the national brand above all else, even though the franchise system is in many ways a series of small, locally-owned businesses. With Marco’s Pizza®, franchisees get the best of both worlds: the name recognition and resources of a national brand, with a focus on helping them win in their local markets.
Our marketing team is hands-on when it comes to helping franchisees learn and implement best practices for their local advertising.
National brand with a local marketing focus
“There’s no doubt that living locally in your community is an important part of who Marco’s is and what we do,” says Vice President of Local Store Marketing Jason Lowder. “When we do nationwide studies, the word that people associate most closely with Marco’s Pizza is ‘local.’ They don’t see us as a large national chain. They see us as locally owned and operated, and we are exactly that; we have a very high percentage of franchisees who live in the exact market in which they have a store.”
As a strongly established brand, we also have the experience to know what’s worked well for Marco’s Pizza franchise owners and how we can best support them. To help market their pizza franchise, we have built an easy-to-use learning curriculum with local store marketing plan support and editable templates. We also provide hands-on support with regular franchisee phone calls where we share best practices and updates on new marketing initiatives. Our marketing team travels to local markets and holds workshops with not just the franchisees, but also managers and marketing representatives on their teams. Those workshops include practical demonstrations in the field that help everybody learn and apply the most effective tactics to reach their target audiences.
Our local marketing focus helps every Marco’s Pizza location become the neighborhood’s preferred pizza place.
Building business through long-term relationships
One of the most important functions of local store marketing is the way it helps franchisees build up their relationships with the customer base surrounding their store. Laying a great foundation in your neighborhood early on can be the key to long-term success, because it cements your store as the go-to place for local families, businesses and organizations for years to come.
“We jokingly say it’s about shaking hands and kissing babies, and marketing your store really is about building relationships in your neighborhood,” says Lowder. “And the relationships that we build in these communities are forever. They drive sales into your stores for a long time, so it’s important that you not only plant the seeds, but continue to nurture and grow those customer relationships.”
And those relationships aren’t just with the individual guests; they include marketing to apartment complexes, businesses, schools and churches with a wide reach that can help you grow your sales. They also offer opportunities to give back by partnering for fundraising pizza nights with youth sports leagues, charities and other organizations. That helps you do great things for both the people around you and for your business, as these fundraisers help introduce you to customers who appreciate what you do for their neighborhoods.
Making your local Marco’s an easy choice for guests
Great food isn’t the only reason guests choose Marco’s Pizza; deep local connections give guests a strong relationship with each location.
Fostering and promoting those local connections gives guests a stronger relationship to each restaurant, making you their first choice for fun family dinners, parties and other events.
“There’s a lot of competition in the pizza business, so we want to make sure we can answer the question ‘Why Marco’s?’ with even more reasons than our great pizza,” says Lowder. “People make their dining decisions on a lot of factors, so our franchisees engage locally and become pillars of their communities, which can earn them more business.”
Learn more about the franchise opportunity
Download our franchise report for more in-depth details about our pizza franchise marketing and other ways we strive to help franchisees succeed. You can also learn more by exploring our research pages.
